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| During impact, the small car always lose to the heavier one, but for drivers on a tight budget, small is often better than public transport. |
LET’s get one thing out of the way first — small cars are not safe.
As the website Beam NG Drive shows, its simple physics — when it comes to impact, the heavier one always hits harder.
But if you are catching public transport to get to and from a low-paying job, a heavy car is out of reach.
This is why there are so many Toyota Tazz and VW City Golf models still commuting all over South Africa. These cars are no longer made despite being in demand because they will fail all modern crash and collision tests. Yet even the death-box design of a Datsun 1400 is still for sale at over R70 000 in Maritzburg, because the bottom line is people will ride in what they can afford.
And the good news is parents who budget R2 000 for the family’s taxi fares can afford to operate a small new car for a rand less.
The second thing to get out of the way is that list prices can always go down. It is a buyer’s market and dealers are eager to assist — even if the banks do not always make this easy when financing is required.
Here are the three cheapest cars that present a better alternative to queuing at the rank.
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| The Renault Kwid, safe it ain't all that much, but cheap it be, and that's the only criteria for most driver. |
Renault Kwid — R127 900
Demo models with a few thousand kilometres on the clock go for under R120 000.
For those who insist on brand new, Renault offers a zero deposit deal and includes a year’s insurance for R1 999 a month for the entry-level Kwid.
The monthly payment includes R1 207,50 for once-off initiation fee and excludes a monthly service fee of R69 per month as well as on-road costs.
This is really a fantastic deal, considering that most people paying about R50 for a one-way fare to get to work will pay over R2 000 for the month’s taxi fares.
As for safety, the Kwid’s crumple zone’s and Renault’s leading seat belt tech make it relatively safer than a Tazz, Golf or 1400, but don’t take on anything heavier; for the Kwid is the lightest of the three cars listed here at 1 105 kg.
Yet it has the bigger boot at 300 litres with the seats up and 1 115 litres with the back row down, for those who need to load more.
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| The Datsun Go rides high and leverages a fair amount of Newtons afrom its 50kW engine. |
Datsun Go — R137 200
A demo Datsun sells for less than R115 000 — making this the cheapest small hatch you can get almost new in SA.
The Go also trumps the Kwid and Celerio when it comes to spare parts costs. Pinetown resident Malcolm Kinsey’s annual parts basket report the Datsun GO as South Africa’s most affordable car to fix when it comes to typical accident damage and wear and tear items.
Kinsey put the Go first in his category of entry-level cars for first-time buyers, as the little Datsun scored best overall in the service, repair and crash parts sections respectively.
The Go also comes with one-year free insurance and an optional service plan. While all three cars here have 50 kW engines, the Go has the most torque at 104 Newtons (the Kwid has 91 and the Celerio 90).
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| The Suzuki Celerio has won a slew of awards and low prices for demo units a make it a good proposition among cheap small cars in South Africa. |
Suzuki Celerio — R138 500
A demonstration model Celerio now sell from R123 900. Thanks to giving its 90 Newtons at a low 3 500 rpm and lots of space, the Celerio has won several industry award. This include the Gumtree, Cars.co.za Consumer Awards powered by WesBank and CAR Top 12 Awards, as well as similar awards in India and the UK.
The new Celerio comes with a promotional five-year or 200 000 km mechanical warranty.
Service plans are optional on the entry levels, but the GL comes with a two-year or 60 000 km service plan.
The Celerio rides on 14-inch wheels compared to the cheaper 13-inchers of the Kwid and Go, but it can wring well over 20 km from every litre of petrol, which will offset the few hundred rand the bigger tyres will eventually cost.
(First published in Witness Wheels 5 July 2018)
